PESHAWAR/TANK: The Pakistan Army on Thursday rejected outright the local Taliban claim of capturing another fort at Seplatoi in South Waziristan Agency (SWA).
Amid reports of a massive military operation against Baitullah Mehsud-led militants, the local Taliban on Thursday claimed to have captured another historic fort of the paramilitary forces at Seplatoi area of the restive SWA and claimed taking 60 Frontier Corps soldiers hostage. There were reports that the militants were moving towards another strategic fort in Serwakai subdivision, which is being used as a military base.
Baitullah Mehsud’s men had earlier Tuesday night claimed the capture of the British-era fort at Srarogha in the same tribal territory, which is stated to be still under their control while the Army said that the fort had now been vacated by the militants.
Sources told The News on telephone from the lawless tribal region that hundreds of armed militants stormed the Seplatoi FC fort in Serwakai subdivision and asked the militiamen to surrender peacefully as they had been ringed. The militants assured the paramilitary men of amnesty if they did not offer any resistance.
“The soldiers did not resist otherwise there would have been heavy losses,” said a senior official of the political administration, while talking to The News on condition of anonymity. The official said the soldiers knew what had happened to their colleagues in Srarogha fort a night back. “They had offered resistance and sustained losses as nobody could turn up to their rescue.”
Dozens of FC men were reportedly ruthlessly murdered and kidnapped by the militants from Srarogha fort. The fort is still in tribal militants’ control, who call themselves Taliban. However, military spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas, when approached by telephone, told The News that there was no truth in reports about the Seplatoi fort being captured by the militants.
“Absolutely baseless and I reject this report. I want to clarify that the Pakistan Army and the Frontier Corps personnel are still present in the fort,” said Maj Gen Abbas, who is the Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).
He said the security forces fired artillery shells, forcing the militants to flee the Srarogha fort. The spokesman, however, admitted that the forces had not recaptured the fort and efforts were underway for gaining control of the military base.
“Though I can’t provide you with the details of the operation, yet efforts are underway for retaking the fort,” said the military spokesman. About reports of a massive military action against the Mehsud-led militants, Gen Abbas said, “Obviously, an action is going to be taken against them for what they had started there.”
On the other hand, Maulvi Omar, who is a spokesman for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and its central amir Commander Baitullah Mehsud, called The News from an undisclosed location and claimed that their men had captured another fort, Seplatoi.
He said around 100 militants attacked the fort at 4 am on Thursday and captured it without any resistance. “There were 60 soldiers from Frontier Corps in the fort, and all of them did not offer resistance,” claimed Omar, adding that all the soldiers came out of the military compound and laid down their arms. The soldiers were taken hostage, while the militants seized all the arms and ammunition and other stocks dumped in the fort.
The spokesman said that senior militant commanders later in the morning decided to reward the detained soldiers for their ‘moral courage’ and allowed them to go home. He claimed their fighters were now moving towards Serwakai fort.
“By capturing military forts and making soldiers hostage, we want to exert pressure on the government to accept our demands,” he added. Asked about their demands, he said: “These are very simple. We have continuously been asking the government to halt military operations, release Lal Masjid Khateeb (prayers leader) Maulana Abdul Aziz and all other male and female students of religious schools arrested from Islamabad and other parts of the country.”
Maulvi Omar claimed they were holding 100 Pakistan Army and FC soldiers captured from Swat, Mohmand Agency, South Waziristan and other parts of the province. The soldiers, he said, would be released once their oft-repeated demands were accepted.
Omar also warned that their next target would be the settled areas of the province, but did not elaborate. Meanwhile, bodies of the slain FC personnel could not be retrieved from Srarogha fort despite passage of two days.
The political administration convened a Jirga of Mehsud tribal elders in the Tank city and asked them to help recover the bodies of the soldiers. But according to one of the Jirga members, Maulana Esamuddin, who is contesting elections for NA-42 South Waziristan, the Jirga did not leave for the area after military officials did not give the elders surety that they would not be fired upon by the security forces.
“We have talked to the Taliban who assured us of full security when wished to take bodies of the slain soldiers. But military officials refused to give us security that’s why the Jirga members could not travel there.”
Also, frightened by artillery shelling and alleged bombing by the Pakistan Army gunship helicopters on residential areas, thousands of people started leaving their homes in the militancy-hit South Waziristan Agency. Acute shortage of edible items is another factor behind the decision of the people to migrate to safer places as security forces had imposed a ban on the supply of foodstuff to the region three days ago.
A number of distressed residents called The News from the Mehsud inhabited areas and complained about artillery shelling on residential areas by the security forces. Security forces reportedly shelled several areas populated by the Mehsud tribesmen, including Ladha, Makin, Serwakai, Tiarza, Srarogha and Spinkai Raghzai etc, in which a number of houses were damaged and casualties caused to the residents. Maulana Esamuddin said three women died at Torwam village of Tiarza area when an artillery shell hit a house of a local villager there.
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